1. Field of the Invention. This invention relates generally to independent wheel suspension systems for motor vehicles and more particularly to a strut type independent rear suspension for a front wheel drive vehicle.
2. Disclosure Information. Rear suspension systems have been constructed to control the attitude of the rear wheels in order to provide particular handling characteristics of the motor vehicle, for example roll understeer or roll oversteer, as well as to provide a soft ride free from road vibrations. Handling characteristics such as roll understeer, roll oversteer or roll neutral steer during cornering of a motor vehicle are achieved by controlling the toe angle of one of the rear wheels during the jounce stroke of the suspension.
A vibration free ride is enhanced if the rear wheels are allowed to recess when the wheel hits a bump. However, both wheel recession and steering stability must be taken into account when designing a rear suspension. One way to take both factors into account is by controlling the toe angle of the wheel during its recession.
One way to control the toe angle of a wheel is with a suspension having two control arms substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The arms control the toe angle changes of the wheels as they shift position.
However, previous usage of the two transverse control arms in combination with a strut suspension necessitated the spring element in the strut suspension to be mounted about the strut.
In many strut suspensions, the spring has been positioned away from the strut and interposed between a transverse control arm and the chassis so that the strut upper mount can be constructed from softer rubber, and secondly, valuable cargo space or engine compartment space can be maximized.